[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39408-39410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16807]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DHS-2011-0061]
Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/ALL-030 Use
of the Terrorist Screening Database System of Records
AGENCY: Privacy Office, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 the Department of
Homeland Security proposes to establish a new Department-wide system of
records notice entitled, ``Department of Homeland Security/ALL-030 Use
of the Terrorist Screening Database System of Records.'' The Department
of Homeland Security is maintaining a mirror copy of the Department of
Justice/Federal Bureau of Investigation-019 Terrorist Screening Records
System of Records, August 22, 2007, in order to automate and simplify
the current method for transmitting the Terrorist Screening Database to
the Department of Homeland Security and its components. Additionally,
the Department of Homeland Security is issuing a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking concurrent with this system of records elsewhere in the
Federal Register. This newly established system will be included in the
Department of Homeland Security's inventory of record systems.
DATES: Submit comments on or before August 5, 2011. This new system
will be effective August 5, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2011-0061 by one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 703-483-2999.
Mail: Mary Ellen Callahan, Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy
Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the
agency name and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background
documents or comments received go to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions and privacy
issues please contact: Mary Ellen Callahan (703-235-0780), Chief
Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security,
Washington, DC 20528.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to establish a new
system of records titled, ``DHS/ALL-030 Use of the Terrorist Screening
Database (TSDB) System of Records.'' DHS is maintaining a mirror copy
of the Department of Justice (DOJ)/Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI)-019 Terrorist Screening Records System of Records (August 22,
2007, 72 FR 47073) in order to automate and simplify the current method
for transmitting the TSDB to DHS and its components.
Homeland Security Presidential Directive 6 (HSPD-6), issued in
September 2003, called for the establishment and use of a single
consolidated watchlist to improve the identification, screening, and
tracking of known or suspected terrorists and their supporters. The
FBI/TSC maintains and distributes the TSDB as the U.S. government's
consolidated terrorist watchlist. DHS and the FBI/TSC, working
together, have developed the DHS Watchlist Service (WLS) in order to
automate and simplify the current method for transmitting TSDB records
from the FBI/TSC to DHS and its components.
The WLS allows the FBI/TSC and DHS to move away from a manual and
cumbersome process of data transmission and management to an automated
and centralized process. The WLS will replace multiple data feeds from
the FBI/TSC to DHS and its components, as documented by information
sharing agreements, with a single feed from the FBI/TSC to DHS and its
components. The WLS is a system to system secure connection with no
direct user interface.
DHS and its components are authorized to access TSDB records via
the WLS pursuant to the terms of information sharing agreements with
FBI/TSC. DHS is publishing this SORN and has published privacy impact
assessments to provide additional transparency into how DHS has
implemented WLS. DHS will review and update this SORN no less then
biennially as new DHS systems come online with the WLS and are approved
consistent with the terms of agreements with FBI/TSC. There are five
DHS systems that currently receive TSDB data directly from the FBI/TSC
and will use the WLS. These systems have existing SORNs that cover the
use of the TSDB:
(1) Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Office of
Transportation Threat Assessment and Credentialing: DHS/TSA-002
Transportation Security Threat Assessment System (May 19, 2010, 75 FR
28046);
(2) TSA, Secure Flight Program: DHS/TSA-019 Secure Flight Records
System (November 9, 2007, 72 FR 63711);
(3) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Passenger Systems
Program Office for inclusion in TECS: DHS/CBP-011 TECS System (December
19, 2008 73 FR 77778);
(4) U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-
VISIT) Program for inclusion into the DHS Enterprise Biometrics Service
(IDENT): DHS/USVISIT-0012 DHS Automated Biometric Identification System
(June 5, 2007, 72 FR 31080); and
In addition, two DHS components will receive TSDB data via the WLS
in the form of a computer readable extract. The components' use of the
TSDB data is covered by existing SORNs:
(1) Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A): DHS/IA-001
Enterprise Records System, (May 15, 2008 73 FR 28128), and
(2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): DHS/ICE-009
External Investigations, (January 5, 2010 75 FR 404).
Information stored in the WLS will be shared back with the FBI/TSC
in order to ensure that DHS and the FBI/TSC can reconcile any
differences in the database and ensure DHS has the most up-to-date and
accurate version of TSDB records. All other sharing will be conducted
pursuant to the programmatic system of records notices and privacy
impact assessments discussed in this SORN.
DHS is planning future enhancements to the WLS that will provide
for a central mechanism to receive information from DHS components when
they encounter a potential match to the TSDB and send this information
to the FBI/TSC. DHS will update this SORN to reflect such enhancements
to the WLS, as part of its biennial reviews of this SORN once that
capability is implemented.
DHS is publishing this SORN to cover the Department's use of the
TSDB in
[[Page 39409]]
order to provide greater transparency to the process.
Concurrent with the publication of this SORN, DHS is issuing a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to exempt this system from specific
sections of the Privacy Act.
II. Privacy Act
The Privacy Act embodies fair information principles in a statutory
framework governing the means by which the United States Government
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates individuals' records. The
Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained in a ``system of
records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any records under the
control of an agency for which information is retrieved by the name of
an individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other
identifying particular assigned to the individual. In the Privacy Act,
an individual is defined to encompass United States citizens and lawful
permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends administrative
Privacy Act protections to all individuals where systems of records
maintain information on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and
visitors. Individuals may request access to their own records that are
maintained in a system of records in the possession or under the
control of DHS by complying with DHS Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR
Part 5.
The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish in the Federal
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system
of records that the agency maintains, and the routine uses that are
contained in each system in order to make agency record keeping
practices transparent, to notify individuals regarding the uses to
their records are put, and to assist individuals to more easily find
such files within the agency. Below is the description of the DHS/ALL-
030 Use of the Terrorist Screening Database system of records.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of
this system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and to
Congress.
System of Records
DHS/ALL-030
System name:
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/ALL-030 Use of the Terrorist
Screening Database (TSDB) System of Records
Security classification:
Unclassified.
System location:
Records are maintained at DHS and Component Headquarters in
Washington, DC and field offices.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Categories of individuals covered by this system include:
Individuals known or appropriately suspected to be or have
been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or
related to terrorism (``known or suspected terrorists'').
Categories of records in the system:
Categories of records in this system include:
Identifying information, such as name, date of birth,
place of birth, biometrics, photographs, passport and/or drivers
license information, and other available identifying particulars used
to compare the identity of an individual being screened with a known or
suspected terrorist, including audit records containing this
information;
For known or suspected terrorists, in addition to the
categories of records listed above, references to and/or information
from other government law enforcement and intelligence databases, or
other relevant databases that may contain terrorism information.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296;
Section 5 U.S.C. 301;
The Tariff Act of 1930, as amended;
The Immigration and Nationality Act; and
49 U.S.C. 114, 5103a, 40113, ch. 49 and 46105.
Purpose(s):
DHS and its components collect, use, maintain, and disseminate
information in the DHS Watchlist Service (WLS) to facilitate DHS
counterterrorism, law enforcement, border security, and inspection
activities. TSDB data, which includes personally identifiable
information (PII), is necessary for DHS to effectively and efficiently
assess the risk and/or threat posed by a person for the conduct of its
mission.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)/Terrorist Screening
Center (TSC) is providing a near real time, synchronized version of the
TSDB in order to improve the timeliness and governance of watchlist
data exchanged between the FBI/TSC and DHS and its component systems
that currently use watchlist data.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C.
552a(b) of the Privacy Act all or a portion of the records or
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
A. To the Department of Justice (DOJ)/FBI/TSC in order to receive
confirmations that the information has been appropriately transferred
and any other information related to the reconciliation process so that
DHS is able to maintain a mirror copy of the TSDB.
This system will share information internal to the Department
pursuant to (b)(1) of the Privacy Act. Besides the routine use
described above, external sharing shall occur at the programmatic level
pursuant to following published System of Records Notices:
(1) TSA, Office of Transportation Threat Assessment and
Credentialing: DHS/TSA-002 Transportation Security Threat Assessment
System (May 19, 2010, 75 FR 28046);
(2) TSA, Secure Flight Program: DHS/TSA-019 Secure Flight Records
System (November 9, 2007, 72 FR 63711);
(3) CBP, Passenger Systems Program Office for inclusion in TECS:
DHS/CBP-011 TECS System (December 19, 2008 73 FR 77778);
(4) U.S. VISIT program for inclusion into the DHS Enterprise
Biometrics Service (IDENT): DHS/USVISIT-0012 DHS Automated Biometric
Identification System (June 5, 2007, 72 FR 31080);
(5) Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A): DHS/IA-001
Enterprise Records System, (May 15, 2008 73 FR 28128), and
(6) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): DHS/ICE-009
External Investigations, (January 5, 2010 75 FR 404).
Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
None.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in
secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records
are stored on magnetic disc, tape, digital media, and CD-ROM.
[[Page 39410]]
Retrievability:
Records may be retrieved by name or personal identifier.
Safeguards:
Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being
stored. Access to the computer system containing the records in this
system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the
information for the performance of their official duties and who have
appropriate clearances or permissions.
Retention and disposal:
The WLS will maintain a near real time mirror of the TSDB, and will
not retain historical copies of the TSDB. The WLS will be synchronized
with the TSDB. When the FBI/TSC adds, modifies, or deletes data from
the TSDB, the WLS will duplicate these functions almost simultaneously,
and that information will then be passed to DHS and its component
systems. The DHS component that is screening individuals will maintain,
separate from the WLS, a record of a match or possible match with the
TSDB and DHS will retain this information in accordance with the DHS
component specific SORNs identified in this notice.
System Manager and address:
Executive Director, Passenger Systems Program Office, Office of
Information Technology, Customs and Border Protection, 7400 Fullerton
Rd, Springfield, VA.
Notification procedure:
The Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted this system from
the notification, access, and amendment procedures of the Privacy Act
because it is a law enforcement system. However, DHS and its components
will consider individual requests to determine whether or not
information may be released. Thus, individuals seeking notification of
and access to any record contained in this system of records, or
seeking to contest its content, may submit a request in writing to the
Headquarters or component FOIA Officer, whose contact information can
be found at http://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``contacts.'' If an
individual believes more than one component maintains Privacy Act
records concerning him or her the individual may submit the request to
the Chief Privacy Officer and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer,
Department of Homeland Security, 245 Murray Drive, SW., Building 410,
STOP-0655, Washington, DC 20528.
When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or
any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with
the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR Part 5. You must first
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name,
current address, and date and place of birth. You must sign your
request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under
28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty
of perjury, as a substitute for notarization. In addition you should
provide the following:
An explanation of why you believe the Department would
have information on you;
Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe
may have the information about you;
Specify when you believe the records would have been
created;
Provide any other information that will help the FOIA
staff determine which DHS component agency may have responsive records;
and
If your request is seeking records pertaining to another
living individual, you must include a statement from that individual
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
Without this bulleted information the component(s) may not be able
to conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to
lack of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.
In addition, if individuals are uncertain what agency handles the
information, they may seek redress through the DHS Traveler Inquiry
Redress Program (TRIP) (January 18, 2007, 72 FR 2294). Individuals who
believe they have been improperly denied entry, refused boarding for
transportation, or identified for additional screening by CBP may
submit a redress request through TRIP.
TRIP is a single point of contact for individuals who have
inquiries or seek resolution regarding difficulties they experienced
during their travel screening at transportation hubs such as airports
and train stations or crossing U.S. borders. Redress requests should be
sent to: DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program, 601 South 12th Street,
TSA-901, Arlington, VA 20598 or online at http://www.dhs.gov/trip and
at http://www.dhs.gov.
Record access procedures:
See ``Notification procedure'' above.
Contesting record procedures:
See ``Notification procedure'' above.
Record source categories:
Records are received from the DOJ/FBI-019 Terrorist Screening
Records System of Records (August 22, 2007, 72 FR 47073)
Exemptions claimed for the system:
The Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted this system from
the following provisions of the Privacy Act, subject to the limitations
set forth in 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3) and (c)(4); (d); (e)(1), (e)(2),
(e)(3), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (e)(4)(I), (e)(5), (e)(8), (e)(12); (f);
(g)(1); and (h) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2). Additionally, the
Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted this system from the
following provisions of the Privacy Act, subject to the limitation set
forth in 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3); (d); (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H),
(e)(4)(I); and (f) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1) and (k)(2).
Mary Ellen Callahan,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2011-16807 Filed 7-5-11; 8:45 am]
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